Just before the 2023 presidential election, rumours about Bola Tinubu’s alleged defection plan have already made headlines. It’s no longer a secret that Bola Tinubu, the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), is said to be planning to leave the party if he doesn’t get the presidential ticket for next year’s general elections.
Following Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo’s recent admission of his 2023 presidential aspirations, Tinubu’s alleged defection has gained pace, as there are now possibilities that the former Governor of Lagos State might be outplayed in the battle for the APC 2023 presidential ticket.
It should be recalled that Bola Tinubu was instrumental in the emergence of Yemi Osinbajo as the APC Vice Presidential candidate in 2015 and 2019, and he often refers to the man who served as the Attorney General of Lagos State during his administration as his “godson”. But he was dissatisfied with his plan to run against him for the party’s presidential nomination in 2023.
With the tides changing against the APC Leader’s 2023 presidential ambitions and reports that a cabal within the Presidency does not want him to emerge as the party’s flag-bearer for the 2023 presidential election, it is easy to understand why he is said to be considering leaving the party if he does not clinch the ticket.
Due to a variety of factors, it is possible that Bola Tinubu’s nomination would not be generally supported by electorates from throughout the country. However, his departure from the APC might devastate the party in a couple of months. This is not to argue that the former Lagos governor has a chance of winning the presidential race in 2023 under a different party.
The Domino Effect of Bola Tinubu’s Alleged Defection Plan on the APC
It is no longer a mystery that Tinubu is one of the APC’s most powerful pillars, and that he is largely responsible for the party’s triumph in 2015. In addition to helping the APC become Nigeria’s top party, the former Governor has built a political family that includes people from all over the country.
Given Tinubu’s network of political connections, riches, and power, one can confidently predict that if he defected from the APC, as is rumoured, thousands of his supporters would follow him to a new party. This will surely decimate the APC ahead of the 2023 general elections. Given the makeup of APC members, many of whom may be regarded as “political nomads,” it is possible that a loss in 2023 could cause the party’s surviving members to seek greener pastures elsewhere. As a result, such actions would eventually result in the APC’s destruction.
Giving the APC 2023 presidential ticket to the former Governor of Lagos State in order to keep him from leaving the party, on the other hand, might cost the APC reemergence. This is due to the possibility that certain members of the party’s leadership do not want him to abandon the party and work against him.
The APC must tread carefully in dealing with Bola Tinubu’s presidential ambitions in 2023. This is because if it is not handled correctly, the former Governor of Lagos State, together with his supporters or other members of the party fighting against his presidential campaign, may abandon the party despite handing over the party’s ticket to him.
